Common Law Branches off into New Directions

It can be said that the law generally takes two forms: statutory and common law. Statutory laws are those laws made by the legislatures of the either the State or Federal government. Whereas, common laws are a result of Court interpretations of reasoned law, and are often referred to as judge-made laws. The Common Law dates back in history to the English Legal System. During that period of time, judges presided over cases, reached decisions and shared them with each other. Many legal issues pertaining to the rights and responsibilities associated with trees are governed by laws which are the product of court interpretation. Many such court interpretations have withstood the test of time and still remain the law of the land to this day. However, it appears that new interpretations of old common law theories are taking place by today's courts causing common law issues pertaining to trees to branch off into new directions. What follows is a brief discussion of two recent changes of common law issues which have occurred regarding trees and the duty of care to be exercised by landowners.